In Good Taste #002: Summer Starter Pack

Grill pans, Gamay, and outdoor dining essentials, part 1

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The first time I went camping I was twenty two and I had just graduated from college. I was in an extreme season of saying yes and making my life feel like the kind of adventure I had read about mostly in the auto-fictional narratives of people who had lost their minds. The conclusion I drew from my experience camping was a fairly anticlimactic one: it was fine. The way I put it, I would do it again, but it will never be my idea. Perhaps more elucidating from the experience was the divide I began to see between outdoors people and outside people. In this case I am not the former but the latter. The outdoors person is the one whose idea it will be to go camping. In fact, they probably own their own tent, or at the very least, know all the local hiking routes and are a member of the REI co-op. They are what we called granola girls and they are 75% of the people I went to college with. And they are not me. I am, however, coming to see myself an outside person. I think it’s a symptom of growing up in New England, where the weather is only nice for some weeks between late June and early September and thus the need to seize every moment of sunshine is the only way we are able to justify living in cold and gray for the rest of the year. Growing up, we spent all of July and August outside. Every summer was the quintessential one: mornings at the local pool, turkey sandwiches for lunch under the shade of a wide umbrella, kickball with neighbors the evenings, cocktail hour on the patio, walks for ice cream after the sun had set. We spent our days outside, coming home only in September when the heat had broken. Whatever I hope to do with my life, I hope most to preserve the feeling of being a kid in summer. The following list is my attempt to do so.

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1. Durable, vintage style wine glasses

   A lot of people will tell you that having glass outside is a bad idea. But I’m afraid you will not see the day I drink wine out of plastic. These vintage inspired wine glasses, made from durable, hand blown glass, are as close a consolation as I will make. And luckily, these aren’t much of a consolation at all and look great on any table.

2. A good cheese board, a good cheese knife.

   

   What I love about hosting in the summer, which feels distinct from hosting in the winter, is how whimsical it can be. It is often the run-ins at my local café or on the street or the last minute texts of is-anyone-around that make hosting in summer feel particularly effortless. And the foods we serve, the way we prepare for these last minute gatherings, is also distinct. There is no stewing, no time to baste and braise. In fact, it’s best not to turn on the oven at all. A simple spread of cheese and crackers will do. Add some olives and meats and enough wine and you have yourself a meal. What we fill ourselves up on is the presentation, the array of colors and texture. Which means the foundation upon which the rest is laid is crucial.

3. These wines:

   

   1. Früg Orange 2021 (1L), Gruner Veltliner, Burgenland, Austria: this was all I drank last summer and I intend for it to be all I drink this summer

   2. Bigarade, Des Jus et Du Lien Julien Rousselot Chenin Blanc, Pays De La Loire

   3. 2021 Domaine De Vernus Beaujolais Villages

4. This playlist:

5. A good grill pan
   Grilling, I’m coming to realize, is something I took for granted growing up. We grilled all year round. Even in winter when we would shovel a path from the back door to the grill to give my father, whose domain it was, access on nights when we wanted a good steak. Outdoor space, especially big enough to house a grill, is basically impossible to come by in New York. I’ve thought about how to sneak a small charcoal grill up to my roof unnoticed, but we aren’t even technically allowed up there and so I doubt throwing fire into the mix would be a good idea. That being said, a grill pan for ~indoor grilling~ (although an oxymoron if you ask me) is a suitable replacement and one I will take over not grilling at all. Adding a grill pan to your cookware collection is a great investment, especially when it doesn’t have to be an investment at all. They can be pretty affordable, and always worth it.

6. Cloth napkins

   

   In my series, Having A Bite With, in which I interview excellent hosts, I always ask about table settings—flowers vs. candles, family style or plated, cloth vs paper napkins. Answers to those former questions change, but, invariably, the best hosts always sit on the side of cloth napkins. As it goes, so do I. Nothing enhances the experience of a home cooked meal like cloth napkins. And in my pursuit to have an extensive cloth napkin collection, these are some of the ones I will be using this summer.

   1. Raspberry swirl stripe napkins from Maison Flaneur

   2. Madre Linen white and red leche napkins from Jane Cookshop

   3. Indigo blue linen napkins

7. Pistachio ice cream

   According to a study in the late 1980s, New Englanders eat more ice cream on an average than the rest of the country. International Ice Cream Association (of which I now dream to be a member), show that region leads the world in ice cream consumption. I don’t doubt this. And although everyone has their preference, mine is unwaveringly pistachio, the kind with whole pieces folded in. It’s perhaps the most nostalgic taste I could imagine.

8. Pitchers, Pitchers, Pitchers

   The tall pitcher of my dreams is from Felt + Fat¹, a Philadelphia based ceramic studio that makes the most amazing, super durable, hand crafted pieces. I have some of their bows and mugs and I love them. But their pitchers, in a lacquered glaze and vibrant colors, are to die for. Fill them with lemon and mint water or your favorite batched cocktail, a pitcher, or tons of pitchers, is, without a doubt, a must.

1. For 10% off your order, use code SARAKEENEBLOG